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Black Friday: Ready, set, shop

Travis Dodd, his mother, Gretchen Dodd and sister, Trina Stafford are already working on their strategies and game plan for snaring the best bargains Friday

Carl Elmore

Shoppers filled the front lot at Oglethorpe Mall early last year and began parking on the lawn.

Carl Elmore

Target had 18 registers open last year on Black Friday, with shoppers waiting at each.

Like any good general, Gretchen Dodd has her battle plans drawn, her troops assembled.

It begins early Thanksgiving morning, as soon as the newspaper hits the driveway.

"This has a higher priority than the turkey," she said, laughing. "We split up the ads and start going through them, making notes of what's on sale and when each special starts. Then we get down to serious strategizing."

The "we" Dodd refers to includes herself, her son, Travis Dodd, and daughter, Trina Stafford.

It's a Black Friday family tradition that started years ago, when the trio turned out early and took shifts in line at Best Buy for an early-bird computer special Travis wanted.

These days, they have it down to a science.

"We each make a list, then we compare them and prioritize," Travis said. "We look at where the best savings are, and we decide where to start."

Dodd and her family are among 63 million Americans expected to venture out on Black Friday, the unofficial kick-off date for the holiday shopping season.

Though industry observers question whether the rush of Black Friday ends up benefiting retailers, shoppers continue to participate year after year. The National Retail Federation estimates that 137 million people plan to be out buying gifts this weekend.

The Dodd family usually stops first at the electronics stores, Stafford said.

"Best Buy, Staples, Circuit City - it just depends on who has what this year," she said.

"Last year, Circuit City had coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for the early birds in line," Travis said. "That was nice."

Stafford's husband, Josh, is also no stranger to Black Friday. His family in Cincinnati has their own day-after-Thanksgiving shopping tradition.

"His grandmother even makes special matching shirts for everyone to help them keep track of each other."

There are mixed studies into whether the early-morning price cuts help retailers.

"I think it's kind of a debatable strategy," said University of Georgia marketing professor Thomas Leigh, pointing to a recent MasterCard holiday retail report that showed last year's Black Friday ranked as the sixth-busiest shopping day.